31 January. Jolly news for these snowy times - Rebellion are to release a 48-page Cor! & Buster Special on 17 April, featuring characters including Sweeney Toddler and Gums, drawn by the likes of Ned Hartley, Cavan Scott, Abigail Bulmer and Tanya Roberts. This will be followed by a reprint for Free Comic Book Day (4 May) entitled Funny Pages, featuring reprints from the archive.

29 October. Judge Dredd Megazine will include a bagged tribute to the late Carlos Ezquerra. "Carlos' death was a profound shock, not just to everyone at 2000AD but also to his fans across the world," says editor Matt Smith. "This small collection of his stories shows not just his evolution as an artist but also a sense of his incredibly consistent quality over more than four decades."

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Monday, February 16, 2015

Comic Cuts - 16 February 2015

I'm writing this bonus column as I missed out a few things on Friday—my energy levels were low and by the time I'd finished scanning and cleaning the covers it was already way past my bedtime. So here's a couple of things I wanted to catch up on.

When I was writing comic cuts two weeks ago we were heading off to see Stewart Lee's 'Room With a Stew' tour. Believe me when I say this was the one time I was worried about the audience. Would we live up to Lee's expectations. Would pockets of the audience grasp what Lee was doing in the name of comedy while other areas sat, looking on blankly, misunderstanding or not comprehending the jokes.

When Lee reviews the Colchester audience, hopefully he won't have found us wanting.

I have rarely queued up for a signature. My earliest experiences with people I thought were famous were with science fiction writers. If you've been to a science fiction convention, you'll know that its difficult to tell the difference between the writers and fans as both tend to wander around freely or hang out at the bar. The only difference is probably the quality of lunches and dinners, especially if publishers are paying.

When I was 17, I attended SeaCon '79, the World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton, and found myself mixing with an astonishing array of authors who had achieved almost legendary status as far as I was concerned—people like Theodore Sturgeon, Alfred Bester, Poul Anderson, Larry Niven, Robert Silverberg, Robert Sheckley, L. Sprague de Camp, John Brunner, Brian Aldiss... the list goes on... OK, a few more then: Hal Clement, R. A. Lafferty, James White, Anne McCaffrey, Joe Haldeman, Fritz Leiber... you get the picture: these were the biggest names in SF. Arthur C. Clarke sat down next to me at a talk given by Greg Benford.

Getting an autograph seemed secondary to actually conversing, albeit briefly in some cases, with these people and I carried that forward into comics—comic strip-style comics—where I must have met most people who attended a UKCAC in the 1980s or 1990s.

It seems a little odd, therefore, to be getting excited about visiting comedians and getting things signed. Maybe its because I've never come across anything like a comedy convention, so this is a rare chance to actually meet (for a few seconds) people whose careers I've followed for years.

I've actually appeared alongside Stewart Lee in a magazine. Remember Alan Moore's Dodgem Logic? I wrote a couple of articles for it including one on T. Lobsang Rampa, the fake Tibetan lama who wrote The Third Eye. The article shared space with pieces by three of my favourite comedians: Stewart Lee, Robin Ince and Josie Long. I met Ince, briefly, after one of his appearances at Colchester Art's Centre, and now I've met Lee briefly after his appearance at the Mercury.

However, rather than just getting a signature, I have plans to get the old team of Lee & Herring signing my Fist of Fun DVDs with one of their catchphrases. All I've got to do is get Richard Herring to sign "Aaaah" and I'll have it. (Sorry, to understand this you need to have watched Fist of Fun and to have a long memory.)

Also two weeks ago—follow this link to see that post—I was having a go at how terrible the piss-poor "firstsite" art gallery has been since it opened in 2011. Well, it appears I'm not alone: the Arts Council have scrapped a £2.4 million, three-year deal that they had pledged to the gallery last July. Instead, they've given them a one year special funding arrangement worth £800,000 and a set of goals to meet before they will be offered a second similar amount.

Firstsite lost £484,000 in 2012 and £400,000 in 2013. It currently has no exhibition on because apparently it takes two months (10 January to 14 March) to "help finance a new business plan".

I wonder if this is the time I should bring up my idea for a Comic Art Museum? It can't be a worse idea that what we've got at the moment and I've always thought we could do with a museum dedicated to comics. We have an amazing history of comic art and so much worth celebrating and Colchester is on a direct line out of London and a popular tourist destination due to its Roman remains and Norman castle. We have the university and language schools that bring in plenty of students. I'm almost convinced that it's worth putting together a pitch.

Tomorrow I'll be returning to Dodgem Logic. The urge to list things has become too much to suppress this weekend and I'll hopefully have a list of contents for five of the eight issues (all I have) for presentation tomorrow—the magazine really was an eclectic collection of talent.

AVAILABLE NOW!Forgotten Authors Vol.1Click here for details and payment options"This is utterly fascinating: what a terrific accomplishment! It has held and engaged me. Authors who are only names have been documented and recorded, from the pathetic to the successful, and everywhere in between. This is incredible research, and I cannot begin to thank you enough for sharing it. I’m dipping into it with absolutely enormous pleasure."—Richard Bleiler"Recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of books, book publishing, obscure authors or even researching family history. Looking forward to Volume 2"—Amazon review.

AVAILABLE NOW!The Men Behind Flying Saucer ReviewClick here for details and payment options"Beginning in 1955, the Flying Saucer Review has been key to chronicling the appearance of Unidentified Flying Objects and the latest theories of why they have been appearing in our skies. A dedicated group of enthusiasts - amongst them an accountant, a publisher's editor, a test pilot, a novelist and a member of the House of Lords - were amongst those who helped put together this remarkable magazine. Who they were and how they came to work together makes for a fascinating tale, some of it as curious as the phenomena the magazine studied."

AVAILABLE NOW!Countdown to TV ActionClick here for details and payment options."The perfect compliment to my set of Countdown/TV Action" - Graham Bleathman."A wonderful trip down memory lane. Recommended" - Paul Simpson, Sci-Fi Bulletin"If you read Countdown as a child, you'll be fascinated by this account of its making ... indispensable." - John Freeman, Down the Tubes"The definitive history of the title" - Lew Stringer, Blimey!"I urge you to grab a copy and give Steve Holland a tip of the hat for the amount of hard work, research and love he's poured into making a book of information become an interesting story" - Barnaby Eaton-Jones, The Cult Den

Lion King of Picture Story PapersClick here to order"It's a great read in itself and has sent me back to the Lion comic to re-read some of my childhood favourites. The pictures are reproduced crystal clearly and even this old man can read the original art ... It's a gorgeous book and if we are snow-bound as the media has been saying for weeks, I have plenty to keep me amused this chilly January weekend!" - Norman Boyd.

Sexton Blake Annual 1941Click here to order"If you've been meaning to give Sexton Blake's adventures a try, this would be a great place to start. I've seen the actual annuals go on Ebay for three or four hundred bucks, so this is definitely a bargain too." - Singular Points.

Peter Jackson's London Is Stranger Than FictionClick here to order"The original books have been highly collectable for many years now, but finally they’ve been republished in a single volume from Bear Alley Books ... for the ridiculously reasonable price of £14.99. Do yourself a favour. " Christopher Fowler.

OUT OF PRINT!ArenaClick here for details and payment options"This book goes straight to the top of my large reading pile" - Graeme Neil Reid"With reality TV overload and the rise of the risque and the brutality of today’s society, this story still has a pertinent message for those of us who are willing to listen to it. In fact, I think the story is more relevant today than it was in 1979." - Colin Noble, Down the Tubes"The story is a fun read, but the star of the show is the art. Alcatena is a class act." - Hibernia Comics